Defence minister says decision on Chippy Shaik not related to the arms deal inquiry

Arms acquisitions chief Shamin "Chippy" Shaik became the latest casualty of government's controversial arms procurement yesterday, when he was suspended for allegedly passing inside information to people outside government without authority.

The suspension, announced by Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, bars Shaik from visiting defence headquarters, offices and military installations and from contacting officials who deal with procurement.

Shaik was a central figure in putting together the arms acquisition, and his suspension follows the release last week of a joint report into the deal, which has been mired in controversy since it was finalised.

The report said he failed to "properly recuse himself" from meetings on contracts in which his brother, Shabir Shaik, had a business interest. His suspension follows the arrest on Friday of Shabir, who faces charges of theft under the Protection of Information Act for allegedly being in possession of classified documents.

But Lekota was at pains yesterday to emphasise that Shaik's suspension was not related to the arms deal report, and the documents which he allegedly passed on without authority were not "part of any court case".

The alleged transgression of section 118 of the Defence Act took place between October 1 and November 1 this year, Lekota said. He was "dealing with the behaviour of an individual employed in a state department (and) expected to respect" certain codes and rules.

Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine FraserMoleketi had been asked to investigate the allegations.

The chairman of Parliament's standing committee on public accounts, Gavin Woods, said he had always believed that Shaik should have been suspended when allegations of irregularities in the arms deal were first made.

"It is international practice that people get suspended when there is an investigation which concerns them," Woods said.

Democratic Alliance spokeswoman Raenette Taljaard said the suspension "on the near ridiculous and minor charges" should not obscure last week's finding against Shaik of a "clear conflict of interest".

"It does seem strange that the sharing of information is at the heart of this suspension. Shaik, according to the (arms deal) report, never had any security clearance to start with," she said. This was despite holding the sensitive and influential position of chief of acquisitions and dealing with highly sensitive information as a matter of routine. "This suspension must not become a diversion. The focus must remain on the far more serious allegations against him in the (arms deal) report," Taljaard said.

C²²I²² Systems MD Richard Young, who has threatened legal action against government because of Shaik's alleged conflicting interests in the decision not to award a contract to his company, said yesterday's development was "extremely surprising". It was "almost obvious" that the department was trying to break the link between it and Shaik so it would be difficult for him to sue government. "It's almost laughable."